Pescadero Memories

[Images by Larry Fitterer.]

Email John Vonderlin (benloudman@sbcglobal.net)

John Vonderlin to Larry Fitterer

Hi John,

I just got caught up at Pescadero Memories.  I’m especially enjoying the correspondence around Monty Parker.  Thanks as always for your gracious words.

I think I neglected to mention that I took a nasty fall during my hike on while getting in position to take a picture of Obstacle 3, The Wall.  The good news is that I managed to hang on to my iPhone (as a younger man, it might have been a beer!).  The bad news is that I landed hard on my right forearm and shin.  The impact was jarring but I shook it off, continued on my way, and pretty much forgot about it.

Several days later, however, the pain in my shin and ankle increased beyond the point of distraction.  I made a trip to Urgent Care and discovered that I have a hairline fracture of my right fibula and a sprained right ankle.  The doctor advised me to take Motrin for the pain and take it easy.  So I will rest up a bit, but I look forward to more coastal adventures.  I would love to explore the Seven Sisters with you and perhaps anchor a rope to the top of the Scree Slope.  Something to look forward to.

I hope all is well with you and Meg, and I look forward to seeing you soon.

Take care,
Larry

Email John Vonderlin (benloudman@sbcglobal.net)

Photos by Larry Fitterer

Hi John

 The picture captioned “Main Notch Cove” actually refers to the cove immediately accessible from above. I was unable to make it into the cove immediately to the north that is bounded by the Notch wall on the north end.

 I ascended the Scree Slope to exit WW Lagoon. I would not descend that slope without a rope. I think it would be great to sink a spike in the ridge and leave a rope dangling down the Scree Slope.

 Actually I never used Ashaleigh’s rope. Instead, I exited at the north end using the rope you left behind. I then walked back to my car at Scott Creek, stopping at the cliff aboe AMBS Beach to check on Ashaleigh. My timing was good as they were just beginning to climb out.

 Thanks for encouraging naming conventions. Here area  few suggestions and requests for assistance:

 The Gauntlet – The entire section of coast from Scott Creek north to the Notch

 Obstacle 1 – The Moat

 Obstacle 2 – Trefiret’s Traverse (apologies)

 Obstacle 3 – The Wall

 Obstacle 4 – Chicken’s Roost

Obstacle 5 – The Scree Slope (or perhaps “The Slippery Slope)

 Obstacle 6 –  The Plunge

 Your name for the series of arches from WW Lagoon to the Notch – The Seven Sisters?

 Please suggest better names for the following three coves:

 North Cove (bounded by the Notch wall on the north end

 Central Cove (the one with the largest arch and your rope)

 South Cove (smallest cove with view of the exquisite arches—part of the Seven Sisters)

 Have you heard back from Asahleigh?

 Take care,

Larry

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 Hi Larry,

   Great photos. I can see why you feel it was a superb adventure. That was one fine low tide. Were you able to walk into the Notch or just close enough to take the picture? Looks pretty treacherous with all the slimies. That climb over the Scree slope doesn’t look too bad. I’ll have to try it sometime myself. How did you climb back up it? It would be nice to have an anchored coiled rope there, though. You must have used the rope at the rappel spot to get back on the cliff based on the last shot, of Ashaleigh. How was that?

  What do you think of naming the first obstacle “The Moat?” I like the “Channel,” The Scree Slope,” “Chicken’s Roost,” and “The Gauntlet.”

 Got any suggestions for the driftwood aided sheer cliff or the traverse spot or any of the other sections? I find it amusing to name them, plus it’s easy shorthand when trying to refer to them. I’ll forward Ashaleigh’s reply and hope we can combine a few of your added observations in a posting. Keep on Climbing. John

To view Larry Fitterer’s beach hike photos, please click here

John Vonderlin’s earlier posts about Monty Parker, please click here

Email John (benloudman@sbcglobal.net)

Read the emails between South Coast explorers Larry Fitterer and John Vonderlin

Hi John,

I took my twins to the coast yesterday afternoon.  We hiked down to Greyhound Rock and explored the surrounding tide pools.  On the way back, I noticed a truck in the small turnout directly above the Monty Parker sign.  We hiked down to the sign and found two ropes going over the edge.  Off in the distance, toward Warm Water Lagoon, we saw two men and a dog building a fire.

I remembered the jar you left at the base of the sign and checked it.  Someone left a note!  I did not take the note, since the spot feels like a shrine, and I don’t have the contents committed to memory.

Here’s what I recall.  Monty Parker was a long time resident of the area, an avid explorer, and abalone diver who drowned just off that spot while diving for abalone.  He was a high school sports coach, and there is a sports field (Parker Field) named after him.  The school name was abbreviated, and I don’t recall the initials.

I was sure the gentlemen down below were acquainted with Monty Parker, and I wanted to wait for them to ascend the rope.  However, it was getting late and the kids were getting antsy.  Instead, I left my business card on the windshield of the truck and invited them to call me to discuss Monty.

Several hours later, I received a call on my mobile phone.  No message, but I’m pretty sure it was one of the climbers.  I called back and left a message.  I will let you know if/when I connect with them.  Hopefully, they can unravel the Monty Parker mystery.  Also, I would love to know how they got their dog down the cliff!

Hope all is well, and my best to Meg,
Larry

—————-

Thanks again for following through. Meg and I wish you and your family the happiest of Holidays and hope to see soon. Enjoy. John

Story by John Vonderlin

Email John (benloudman@sbcglobal.net)

Hi June,

After our little adventure visiting “The Notch,” Meg and I drove the short distance south to where the Monty Parker Memorial stands, perched on a blufftop at the rappel site the Merry Pranksters reputedly used to access the beach below for “Acid Tests.” in the Sixties.

I had a jar I wanted to leave at the base of the sign that declares the spot to be: “AMBS BEACH, Monty Parker’s Favorite Spot in the World.”

Inside the jar was a slip of paper with Larry’s contact information on it and several sheets of paper and a pen. On one I wrote my name, the date of our visit and MONTY LIVES.

Imagine our surprise when we found a brand new one- inch rope tethered to one of the poles driven into the ground beside the sign, and leading over the cliff to the beach below. We couldn’t see anybody on the beaches visible to the north, or south, so possibly the rope is a permanent fixture.

The second photo is of the rappel spot and the new rope, looking straight down to the rocky ledge beach. The other photo is the skeleton in the path I mentioned. The odd thing is, every other deer skeleton I’ve seen was dismembered by scavengers. This one probably was picked clean by the vultures we see occasionally cruising the coastal cliffs. It was kind of eerie because of its intactness.

Officially A Mystery: Who Was Monty Parker? Larry Fitterer and John Vonderlin are seeking
the identity of “Monty Parker,” whose name, birth & date of death appear on a post at secluded “AMB” Beach on the South Coast.

Hi June,

After our expedition down to Acid Beach

Larry suggested we drive south to the Prankster rappel spot where he remembered there being a mysterious sign dedicated to “Monty” Parker. I hadn’t seen it on my first exploratory trip there and he was curious if it was still there. It was. I hadn’t noticed it because it had fallen over into thick bushes sometime in the last 15 years. That and the fact that the Prankster Rappel spot was about a hundred feet north of where I had assumed it had been. Who was Monty Parker? What killed him so young? And who is AMB’s Beach, his favorite spot in the world, named after?

My theory/ guess is A.M. Parker may be Catholic and have assumed some confirmation name like Barry. No evidence of that, but the odds of his two first initials being the same as the first two letters of AMB Beach is about 625 to one. I always like to bet on those kind of odds.

It looks like early May will be our next trip to Acid Beach, and this time we plan to swim from Acid Beach to The Notch. It was too deep and the surf was too big to wade through on our last trip. Boogie boards and better protection for my camera are being planned for. Might bring a ladder to get up to the ledge leading to the ocean-side of Warm Water Lagoon. We might even be able to make it over the double arch.

Enjoy John

Email John Vonderlin (benloudman@sbcglobal.net)

———

Meanwhile Larry Fitterer, also curious about the provenance of AMB Beach told John he was on to something. He had found an “AM Parker,” who lived in New Mexico. The birth and death dates matched those found on the monument at the beach.

Said Larry: I’ve wondered whether “Amb” is an abbreviation. Guessing that it might be short for “Amber,” I queried zabasearch.com and found an Amber Parker living in Santa Cruz. Perhaps she is Monty’s daughter.

————

John to Larry:

Hi Larry,
Just wanted to thank you for joining us on our expedition. I’m heading to Stockton early tomorrow to see my granddaughter play a game of baseball, my last bit of “vacation” while Larry, my brother is here…I hope you’ll join us on our return trip. Enjoy. John

———-

Hi John,
I am glad you and Meg were able to ascertain the northern “route” into Acid Beach. Next time we go out together, perhaps we can make the journey halfway down (without ropes), though I would probably be reluctant to venture must farther even with safety ropes. Still, the halfway point does provide a pretty spectacular view of the cove and surrounding area.

I spent some more time the other day thinking about “AMBS” I wondered if perhaps Ambs is a surname… As it turns out, Ambs is indeed a surname; German, in fact. There was only one hit for that name in the Bay Area, an Ambs, who by my reckoning, had moved to Maryland.

I wrote to him last week and queried him about the sign. He responded promptly as follows:

‘Dear Larry, thanks for your email. I actually visited this part of California several times in the 90s and lived for a brief period in California but the sign is not my product. It’s most likely not related to me. Thus, I cannot help you with the history of that sign. Ambs is actually a German name and originated in the southwest part of Germany’.

The mystery continues…

Hi John,

journal entry at Pescadero Memories regarding your attempts to access Acid Beach.  I am very familiar with The Notch, Acid Beach, Trefiret Beach, and AMB’s beach having been to all four, and the latter three on many, many occasions beginning around 1993 or 1994.

In fact, I know exactly how the beaches were named.  A friend of mine, and co-explorer of that portion of the coast, named that northernmost of the three beaches “The Notch” in the Coastal Records Project, literally after a notch in the cliff above that beach.  The actual notch is visible, as I recall, looking to the south from the turnout in US1 directly above Acid Beach.  A promontory extends out perpendicular to the coast and the notch is cut in to the top of the promontory, maybe a dozen feet wide and deep.

I was surprised to run into someone at the bottom of Acid Beach once back around 1994.  This person (Steve) had accessed that beach on numerous occasions.  He called it “Acid Beach” because he enjoyed “partaking” there.  So while the naming may not have a direct connection to Ken Kesey, it was named by a kindred spirit!  My friend/co-explorer denies naming the beach in the Coastal Records Project, but I am dubious.

My friend named “Trefiret Beach” after me.  Trefiret is simply an anagram of my last name, Fitterer.  I was appalled at the naming, by the way, and would have chosen a more appropriate descriptive name instead.

I believe I designated AMB’s Beach in the Coastal Records Project.  A stake was driven in the ground at the lowest point of the cliff above AMB’s Beach, presumably for rappelling purposes.  Behind the stake, about 50 feet away, is (or at least was) a homemade sign which reads:  “AMB’s Beach – Monty Parker’s favorite spot.”  I don’t know AMB or Monty Parker, but given that they had reached the before before me, I thought I would pay tribute in the Coastal Records Project.

Regarding beach access, I will address each in turn.  First, I reached The Notch only one time.  That was in 1993 or 94, and I accessed it from Acid Beach to the south at a very low tide.  If you stand above Acid Beach at the turnout in Highway 1 and look at the north end of that beach, you will notice a very significant arch.  15 years ago, you could walk through the arch to the north at a very low tide, and then scramble along the base of the cliffs to the north of the arch to access The Notch.  However, the sand levels have eroded to the point that this access is no longer possible.

In the past, Acid Beach could be accessed by descending from the top of the north end of the cove (in front of a sprawling pine tree) and in line with the large arch.  You could walk over the arch and then descend to the beach mainly in a southerly direction.

Unfortunately, the arch has eroded to the point that I no longer feel comfortable crossing it.  You can safely exit Acid Beach by ascending from the south end of the main cove (i’m comfortable ascending the south end but not climbing down).  A description here would be too difficult.  Better to describe in person (more on that in a bit).

Trefiret Beach/Warm Water Cove/Amb’s beach, as you know, are all accessible from Scott Creek.  I call the route the “Scott Creek Obstacle Course” for reasons you must know well by now.

It is possible to access Acid Beach from Warm Water Cove.  Here’s how.  Refer to the first picture in your post entitled “Third Time’s The Charm” from February 24th.  You need to proceed north around the back of the cove.  As you reach the base of the peninsula that extends out in a southerly direction, you can climb onto a ledge about 8 feet high and walk along that ledge all the way out to the big arch.

At that point, you are at the base of a steep scree slope.  It’s pretty scary, but it is possible to ascend that slope to the top of the ridge visible in that picture.  There ain’t no goin’ back, however!  Once you climb, you are pretty much committed to going the rest of the way.  The way down and north is pretty obvious from the ridge.

Once you make your way around to the south end of the south cove at Acid Beach, you have a choice:  (1) negotiate a ten foot or so drop into the cove, or (2) back up a bit and drop into waist/chest deep water and trudge into the cover.  With much experience, I can say that Option 2 is far safer and easier to do.

It’s pretty easy from there.  You go to the back of the cove, climb over a tunnel at the north end of that south cove and then pick your way into the main cove at Acid Beach.

I haven’t made this trip in a few years and would love to do it again.  I would especially love to go with someone else but have never found anyone interested in accompanying me (my wife and buddies are not particularly adventurous).

Please let me know if you have any questions.  I would be happy to write back or call if that’s easier.  Also, it would be great to make the trip from Scott Creek to Acid Beach with you.  Let me know if that’s of interest, and we can plan a trip around the tides.

I’m glad to know you are connecting in an intimate way with this beautiful, desolate section of coast.

Take care,
Larry Fitterer